Better Cranberry Sauce

Better Cranberry Sauce
Source: Crockpot365

12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Rinse the cranberries; drain and put them in your crockpot (1.5 quart size). Add the sugar and water and gently mix. It's a lot of liquid, but it will cook down.

Cover and cook on high for approximately 3 hours. Stir every 45 minutes or so. When the cranberries start to get mushy, use your spoon to crush them (about 1-1/2 to 2 hours into cooking), by pushing on them.

Once they are all nice and smooshed, take the cover off of the crockpot and continue to cook on high for another 30 to 45 minutes. It will still be a bit liquidy (but shouldn't be really runny), but it will thicken a bit as it cools down slightly.

*****

Both my husband and I declared that this cranberry sauce was even better than the basic one.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

These are the absolute best mashed potatoes ever! Well, at least I think so. I honestly can't remember where I got the recipe from, but I've been making them for years now and I think they are wonderful.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tbsp. butter
0.5 tsp. garlic powder
0.5 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 cup milk*
1 (8 oz) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream

1. Boil potatoes until tender; drain.
2. Mash/mix potatoes adding in garlic salt, onion powder, salt, cream cheese, butter and sour cream. Add in milk* until the potatoes reach the right texture/consistency for your taste.
3. Divide among 8x8 pans; cover pans with a double layer of aluminum foil*. Label and freeze.

**These can be eaten as is, or heated in the oven (350*) for approximately 30 minutes before serving.

To serve from frozen: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake at 350* for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until heated through, keeping covered until the last 20 minutes of baking.

Family-Favorite Cheeseburger Pasta

Family-Favorite Cheeseburger Pasta
Source: Taste of Home

1.5 cups uncooked mini pasta (any kind, just do a mini style)
1/2 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain pasta; add to meat mixture.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, relish, mustard, ketchup, steak seasoning and seasoned salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand until cheese is melted. Garnish with green onions if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

*Skip the pasta and this would be a great filling for a Cheeseburger Burrito or on a bun as is.

Spicy Tuna Melt Pie

Spicy Tuna Melt Pie
Source: $5 Dinners

1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 (8 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 4 oz can green chilies
1 (12) oz. can tuna, drained
6 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 cup shredded cheddar choose
2 cup milk
6 eggs
2/3 cup flour
4 Tbsp butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the tuna and mayonnaise, breaking up the tuna. Stir in the mushrooms and green chilies, then stir in shredded cheese.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, flour and butter. Stir into the tuna-cheese mixture.
4. Pour the spicy tuna melt into the greased baking dish.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until is set in the middle and begins to golden on top.

Chicken a la King

Source: Tammy's Recipes


Chicken a la King

1 cup butter (do not use margarine)
1-1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
4 cups (32 oz) milk
7 cups diced cooked chicken
16 oz canned sliced mushrooms, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
*Chicken bouillon powder

1. In a large Dutch oven melt butter. Whisk in flour and salt. Add chicken broth and milk and cook and stir until thickened.**
2. Once thickened, stir in chicken, mushrooms and bell pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes to let the flavors blend together.
3. Serve over hot rice, broken toast or egg noodles.

Makes 4 batches (so 4 separate meals worth) of 4 servings each.

*Taste as it’s cooking after the chicken, mushrooms and bell pepper are added and if desired, add some chicken bouillon powder to taste to create a stronger flavor. You may or may not need to add this depending on your preference.

**Make sure to let the base thicken before you add in the remaining ingredients or it will not thicken up afterwards.

To freeze: Let cool and divide into quart or gallon size freezer bags. Remove excess air and seal. Lay flat to freeze.

To serve: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat through and serve.

Cornbread

Cornbread
Source: Pennies & Pancakes (This site is awesome!!!)

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil*
1 egg
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar and baking powder together.
3. Lightly beat egg.
4. Add egg, oil and milk to dry mixture. Mix until batter is smooth and there are no more lumps.
5. Pour batter into lightly greased muffin tins and bake for 18-22 minutes or until lightly golden.

Makes approximately 12 muffins.

******

This is a perfect cornbread. No more Jiffy cornbread mix for me!

Copycat Boston Market Tortellini Salad

Copycat Boston Market Tortellini Salad
Source: Taste of Home Forum

1 large pkg. (about 40-48 oz) cheese tortellini
16 oz. creamy Caesar dressing
1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3-6 tbsp. water
2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
2 tsp. Mrs. Dash original seasoning
1 red pepper, diced

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain. Mix remaining ingredients together. Stir in the tortellini. Chill overnight for best flavors.

*****

My husband worked at Boston Market as a teenager - almost 20-ish years ago. He all of a sudden remembered that he LOVED their tortellini salad, and off to Google he ran. We cooked up this recipe really quick and threw it in the fridge to let the flavors meld overnight. This turned out great. My husband declared it to be just like he remembered and said to add it to our rotation of recipes. I thought that it was pretty good too. I'm not big on pasta salads of any kind, but overall, I thought it was really good.

*We buy frozen tricolor tortellini in 48 ounce bags.